Can You Hear Me?
by arcaneocean
Summary: Pippa Rose Hart was a former SHIELD agent who ran to Hell's Kitchen, New York after the agency fell. Now known as Rose Murphy, she lives an unsuspecting life with her adopted son, Spencer. Unfortunately, things never stay calm for Rose when dead friends start knocking on her door, and the Devil of Hell's Kitchen takes a special interest in her.
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own anything from the MCU.**

 _"_ _Sometimes you never get started_

 _No one will give you a wake up call_

 _Sometimes the hours are wasted_

 _No one will give you a wake up call_ _."_

 _—Wake Up Call by Nothing But Thieves_

* * *

Matt Murdock knew his new neighbor was lying.

Her name was Rose Murphy, and even that was a lie. Her heart sped up like everyone else when they lied, but the increase with her was minute, and he had to really listen to even notice it.

He and Foggy met her when they were in their last year of law school, and she was just starting her first year of college, going after a Bachelor's in education. When Foggy asked her why she was starting out so late (she was only a year or two younger than them, and they had already gone through college _and_ law school), she said she used to be in the military. Another lie.

The only things Rose didn't lie about, Matt noticed, were that she did really need hearing aids after an explosion (she was lying about it happening in Afghanistan, though), that her son, Spencer, was adopted after his parents passed away during the battle of New York, and that she loved Spencer more than anything. Other than those simple facts, he knew nothing about Rose Murphy, and that irritated him. Because, that made him wonder—what exactly was she hiding, and why?

He shook it off, knowing that if she was doing something illegal, he'd know. She lived right next to him, after all. He heard everything that went on there. He could hear her telling Spencer good night, and that she might be working a little late that night, but that she'd try to get off early, and if she couldn't, that Spencer was to go and stay with Mrs. Greene who lived on the floor below.

But that night, Matt found out more about Rose than he ever thought he would.

* * *

It was late, and he was coming back from his new nightly duties. He couldn't see the extent of his injuries, but he could tell he had been whaled on pretty bad. Luckily, there was nothing on his face, so it would be easy to hide it from Foggy. He was slipping into his bed, when he heard knocking on Rose's apartment door, followed by her shooting straight up in bed, her heart beating wildly.

"Shit," she muttered. Then, something clicking sharply could be heard. With a start, Matt realized Rose was cocking a gun.

"Long time no see," A man's voice said when the door was swung open. Matt could hear the smile in his voice.

Something rustled; Rose let the arm holding the gun fall to her side, and her heart began to beat faster out of shock. "No," she murmured. She took a few steps back, shaking her head wildly. "You—you were dead. I _saw_ you die; I, I went to your _funeral_!" She kept her voice quiet despite her anger and surprise. Likely to keep Spencer from waking up.

"Hey, hey," the man said, and the rustling of fabric told Matt he was holding out his hands in front of him. "Agent Ha—"

"No," Rose said sharply, "don't call me that. My name is Rose Murphy now, and I'd prefer that you use it, Coulson."

Coulson cleared his throat. "Right."

The two stood there awkwardly, until Rose demanded, "How are you even _alive_ , Phil? Why didn't I know about this?"

"Only agents with Level Seven clearance were able to know everything that happened with the Battle of New York," Coulson replied, sighing.

"I was Level _Eight_ ," Rose said, bitterly. "Same as you were."

Coulson sighed again. "I know. Fury decided that it would be best if you didn't know for a while. We were planning on telling you, but..."

"But SHIELD fell, I ditched, and now I live a happy, secret spy-free life," Rose finished with mock cheerfulness. She began to shut the door. "Good morning, Agent Coulson."

Matt could hear a thud, the sound of wood hitting leather. Coulson had stuck his shoe in the way of the closing door, keeping it open just a fraction. "Pi— _Rose._ please." He sounded desperate.

Gritting her teeth, Rose swung the door back open. "You have four and a half minutes," she said. "Make it snappy."

"We need you to come back in," Coulson replied, coming into the apartment.

Rose laughed mirthlessly. "Are you _kidding_ me?" She demanded. "I'm out, Phil! I've got Spencer to take care of, I've got a job—one that I can actually _talk_ about with other people—and I've actually gone to college! I'm gonna be a teacher. Besides, I thought SHIELD was gone after Agent Romanoff exposed all the files and Captain Rogers sent the Helicarriers crashing."

Matt faintly recalled something like that being on the news a while back. SHIELD had been corrupted by terrorists, and Captain America and Black Widow brought down both organizations.

"We've rebuilt SHIELD," Coulson replied. "I'm the Director now. We're trying to recruit people. Please, Rose."

"Jesus Christ," Rose ran her hands through her hair, pacing a little. "Phil, I _can't_ ," she said quietly, her voice empty.

Phil sighed, as if he knew she would say that. "Fine. Just, hold onto this, will you?" He handed her a small metallic object.

"What is it?" Rose asked, turning it in her hands.

"It'll alert you if there's a code red," Phil replied. "If we really, truly need you."

Rose nodded once. "Okay," she said. There was fabric rustling, and Matt assumed she put it in her pocket. "Is that all?"

"We could at least use some help with the things going on here," Phil replied slowly.

Rose sounded as shocked as Matt felt. "Is Hydra in Hell's Kitchen?" She demanded. Matt sat up, silently wondering the same thing.

"Not Hydra," Phil shook his head. "Haven't you noticed yet, Rose? The crime here is getting worse, and you and I both know something's not right. Here," he dug out some papers from what Matt assumed was Coulson's briefcase. "These are copies of the files of everything we have about the crime going on in Hell's Kitchen. Maybe you can figure out something we can't."

"You know how illegal this is?" Rose asked, taking the files. Her heart began to speed up. "Holy shit, Phil! These are, what, Level Ten?"

"Actually, it's Level Omega," Phil replied wryly. "But I've been considering doing away with the number system anyway."

Rose cleared her throat. "Yeah, you, uh, you do that," she murmured, distracted. She was studying the files, probably. "Jesus, Phil, this is so illegal. If someone catches me with these—"

Phil cut her off with a small chuckle. "I think the only person who would even stand a chance of catching you would be that masked guy I've been hearing about recently."

Matt stiffened. How had this man heard about him? He wasn't even on the news yet. Perhaps SHIELD knew more than he anticipated. This wasn't good, but if he could get his hands on those files, maybe some good could come out of this situation.

"Who now?" Rose asked skeptically. "That vigilante dude? I've heard a little bit about him, but I'm willing to bet you guys already know who he is." She laughed a little, but stopped when Phil didn't laugh with her. "Oh, my God, you do, don't you?"

Matt was out of bed now, pacing, and listening intensely to the conversation, no longer feeling guilty now that they were talking about him.

In Rose's apartment, Phil sighed. "Of course we do, Rose. It's our job to know stuff."

"Who is he?" Rose asked, before shaking her head. "No, don't tell me. The less secret identities I know, the better." She lifted her arm, looking down at something. "Shit, it's two in the friggin' morning! Why couldn't you come in the daytime, like a normal human being?"

Coulson laughed. "We both know that neither of us do 'normal.'"

Pippa laughed with him. "Yeah, yeah. See you later Phil."

The door opened, the man walked out, and the door shut. That was that.

* * *

The next day, Matt was on edge. SHIELD knew who he was, what he did. How should he deal with that? Should he confront someone? Rose, perhaps? But, _she_ didn't know who he was. Just SHIELD. He left his apartment that morning, his mind full of unanswered questions.

"'Scuse me," A man said, brushing past Matt, who froze on the spot, nearly dropping his cane.

"You," He said without realizing, turning towards the man. Towards Phil Coulson of SHIELD.

Phil stopped walking. "Me," he agreed. "Can I help you, Mr. Murdock?"

Matt clenched his jaw. "Can we talk about this... privately?" He asked.

"Sure," Phil shrugged. "Wherever you'd like."

Saying nothing, Matt nodded shortly and walked off, assuming Phil would follow as he tapped his cane on the sidewalk with barely contained anger. This man knew who he was, and he had the gal to act so... so _calm_ about this all. It made him frustrated, and incredibly irritated.

"Alright," Phil said once they reached a stop. "I assume you have questions?"

Matt snorted. "Yeah. How the hell do you know who I am?"

"It's SHIELD's business to know, Mr. Murdock," Phil replied coolly. "Especially due to your... nightly activities."

"Why haven't you tried anything?" Matt demanded, clenching his cane so tightly his knuckles were about to split.

Phil shrugged again. "You haven't done anything that requires our intervention," he answered. "If we came after every vigilante out there, we'd never stop arresting people."

Matt nodded shortly. "And Rose?"

"What about her?" Phil asked, but something in his tone told Matt that he already knew what he meant.

"Last night," Matt continued, "You almost called her something else, but she said that her new name was Rose Murphy. That's not even her real name?"

Phil shook his head. "It's Pippa Rose Hart, and she's not who you think she is."

Matt said nothing for a moment. "Who is she really?"

"She was an experiment for a Neo-Nazi group called Hydra," Phil responded, his voice somewhat tight. "They wanted to turn her into the perfect weapon, and they nearly succeeded. She defected, and we recruited her to SHIELD, gave her the codename Ghost."

Matt cocked his head to the side. "Why Ghost?"

"She can become anyone and disappear before you ever knew she was there," he said. "You don't catch her unless she wants to be found." He turned to Matt, seeming to stare into his soul. "So, Mr. Murdock, that begs the question: what exactly is your plan?"

Matt furrowed his eyebrows. "Pardon?"

Chuckling, Phil responded, "I know you heard me last night. You know about the files. And if I know anything, you're going to want those files. Am I wrong?" He turned on his heel and walked away. "I hope we meet again, Mr. Murdock."

Clenching his jaw, Matt didn't say anything. Phil was right. He wanted those files, and he needed a plan. Fast.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Wow, do you hate me? Because I do. I wish I could stick with the stories I've got, but this idea has been bugging me for a few weeks now, so I just had to write it! I'm sorry!**

 **I'll try to update this regularly, but no promises!**

 **If you have any criticism or ideas, feel free to let me know! Also, if you liked this chapter, be sure to follow, favorite, and/or review!**

 **Love,**

 **Nell**


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own anything from the MCU.**

 _"Are you going to age with grace?_

 _Are you going to age without mistakes?_

 _Are you going to age with grace,_

 _Only to wake and hide your face."_

 _—Oblivion by Bastille_

* * *

Pippa woke to sunlight streaming through the window, her alarm clock beeping obnoxiously, and Spencer jumping on her bed.

"Wake up, Mom!" He cried excitedly, each word punctuated with a jump. "Today's the last day of school! Then we can get ice cream when we're done! You promised!" He was careful to face her, knowing she needed to read his lips.

Chuckling tiredly, Pippa pulled herself into a sitting position. "Hmm," she said, pretending to think as she tapped a finger on her chin. "I remember making that promise as long as a certain someone was ready on time." She grinned at Spencer good-naturedly as she watched his eyes widen.

"On it!" Spencer squeaked as he clumsily ran out of the small room.

"Be careful!" Pippa called after him, smiling fondly. Groaning, Pippa got up and glanced at the lone framed picture sitting next to her alarm clock. It was from the day she adopted Spencer, and he was sitting on her shoulders, both of them grinning so hard their cheeks ached later.

Pippa's hair was shorter in the picture, and even though it was still brown, you could faintly see her natural blonde roots poking through. Her hair hid her hearing aids, which she had gotten only a few days prior to when the picture was taken.

Spencer was around eight at the time, and his disease was just starting to set in. When he was four, Spencer had been diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, which meant his retinas were slowly deteriorating. Looking at the picture, it was near impossible to tell that her son was going blind, but now it was a different story. He was already completely blind in his right eye, and his vision was fading steadily in his left.

Admittedly, it was a bit of an adjustment to have a deaf and nearly-blind person living together, but the two of them made it work. When she had first adopted him, Spencer was completely willing, almost eager, to learn sign language with Pippa. She was just as willing to study Braille, something Spencer's birth parents had him learn as soon as he got the diagnosis.

It didn't take Spencer very long to get ready, thanks to Pippa's 'motivation,' and the two were soon making their way out of their apartment, hand in hand.

"Good morning, Mr. Murdock!" Spencer cried happily as he and Pippa walked past their neighbor's door. The young man gave a small smile as he locked his door.

Pippa nodded at the man. "Morning, Mr. Murdock."

"Good morning, Miss Murphy, Spencer. Going to school?" Matthew Murdock replied, his unfocused gaze hidden by his usual dark red sunglasses.

Matthew was an enigma to Pippa, and that frustrated her greatly. Thanks to her combined time at Hydra and SHIELD, she could read anyone like a book. Anyone but her blind neighbor. And if Pippa had learned anything, it was that enigmatic equaled dangerous.

"Yup!" Spencer grinned, bringing Pippa back to focus. "Today's the last day, and Mom promised to take me to get ice cream after!"

Matthew's eyebrow quirked up at that, and he allowed a faint smirk to appear on his face. "Oh, really?" Leaning closer to Spencer, he whispered as if telling a secret, "You'd better hold her to it; offers of ice cream don't happen every day."

Spencer giggled, but he quickly schooled his features into a straight face, nodding solemnly. "I will," he whispered back.

Pippa eyed her neighbor wearily, but she forced a chuckle. "Don't go and be a bad influence on my son, Mr. Murdock," she joked, but part of remained skeptical of her neighbor.

Matthew smiled boyishly at her as he stood up straight and fidgeted with his tie. It was a habit of his, Pippa had noticed. "Wouldn't dream of it, Miss Murphy," he replied, and, even though he was blind, it seemed as though he was staring into her soul.

"Mom," Spencer groaned, tugging on her hand. "I'm gonna be late!"

"Alright," She soothed, placing her free hand on his shoulder. Clearing her throat, she glanced back at her neighbor. "It was nice running into you, Mr. Murdock, but we've got to get going."

"Of course," Matthew nodded. "Bye, Spencer, Miss Murphy."

* * *

Matt Murdock listened as Rose and Spencer walked away. They sounded happy; something completely different than what he had overheard a couple of nights ago.

 _I suppose it all makes sense now,_ he thought begrudgingly. If she had been a spy most of her life, then it was fitting that lying and concealing her emotions would be easier for her.

The bigger question, he supposed, was whether he could _trust_ her. When she was an agent of SHIELD, he might have, but she was retired now. She only had to look out for herself and Spencer.

Matt considered breaking and entering, but Rose would know if someone entered her house uninvited. He gritted his teeth in frustration before walking off, tapping his cane on the ground. This would get him nowhere; he needed to step away from the problem and come back with fresh eyes. No pun intended.

* * *

Pippa groaned as she opened her apartment door, quickly slipping off her heeled boots. Her job at the local cafe was beginning to grow tedious, and if one more person asked her for a trenta latte (what the fuck even _is_ that? She didn't work at Starbucks, for God's sake), she was going to scream.

"I used to kick ass and take names," she mused, tossing her hearing aids on the coffee table, "but now I'm just taking names." She laughed bitterly.

She was about to settle on the couch and watch a Friends marathon while she waited for the bus to bring Spencer home, but she barely took two steps towards the TV when someone knocked on the door.

Pippa sighed. "Mrs. Lopez, I'm telling you, I haven't seen your dog—" she faltered when she saw who stood in her doorway. "—anywhere."

Matthew Murdock chuckled lightly. "I don't think I look like Mrs. Lopez," he joked. He shifted from side to side and eventually settled on leaning against the door frame.

Furrowing her eyebrows, Pippa cocked her head to the side. "Mr. Murdock, what can I do for you?"

"Well," Matthew rubbed the back of his neck, a sheepish smile on his face as he glanced down. She knew his mouth was moving, and she knew that he was speaking, but she had no idea what she was saying. As he finished speaking, he glanced back up, his face hopeful.

Pippa grimaced. "Could you repeat that? I took my hearing aids out, and I didn't get any of it."

Matthew seemed to lose some of his confidence, glancing in her general direction. "Sorry," she read, "uh, well, I was wondering if I could accompany you and Spencer for ice cream. I had plans with my friend, but he's bailed on me, so..."

Sighing, Pippa pursed her lips and considered her neighbor's proposition. "I mean, if Spencer's okay with it—"

"Mom!"

Pippa jolted as her son ducked between Matthew and the door frame to barrel into her leg. "Can we go get ice cream now?" He asked, moving his hands to sign the question his well. "You promised!"

Kneeling down to her son's height, she asked him, "Hey, Mr. Murdock wanted to come along. Are you okay with that, bud?"

Spencer grinned widely. "Yeah!"

Sighing, Pippa looked back at her next door neighbor. "Well, I guess I have no problem with it."

Cheering, Spencer grabbed the two adults by the hand and began dragging them down the hall. "C'mon! Let's go!" He was surprisingly strong for a ten year old, and Pippa glanced over to Matthew, flustered.

"I am so sorry," she muttered quietly.

Matthew laughed. "It's okay, Ms. Murphy."

* * *

Sitting in a small chair inside of Ben and Jerry's was not how Matt had originally planned on spending his day, but there he was. He picked at the vanilla ice cream he had in a bowl with the plastic spoon, partially listening to Spencer babble. It wasn't that he didn't like the Murphy's, he thought they were perfectly fine, but he needed that file. And if he needed that file, he needed to get closer to Rose. Or Pippa, he supposed. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to call her anymore.

"Do you have a seeing eye dog, Mr. Murdock?" Spencer asked, bouncing in his seat.

Matt chuckled. "No, I don't."

"See?" Rose motioned with her spoon. "Mr. Murdock gets along just fine without a dog."

"Well, I'm more of a cat person anyway," Matt shrugged. "But if he wants a dog, who am I to stop him?"

Rose groaned good-naturedly. "Fine." She gave in at last. "This future dog better not pee on the floor."

Spencer burst into a fit of giggles, nearly dropping his cone. "Of course not, Mom! It'll be trained!"

"If you say so."

After the trio had finished, they made the trek back to the apartment complex. As they neared their respective doors, Matt smiled in a friendly manner. "See you tomorrow, Ms. Murphy," he called as he opened his door.

"Sure thing Mr. Murdock," Pippa replied, pulling her own door shut. Matt sat on his couch, waiting, listening. He could hear her putting Spencer to bed. She was finally turning out his light when she gasped. "Hey Spence," he could hear, "I meant to run to the grocery store today. I'll be right back, okay? If anything happens, call me."

Spencer sleepily agreed, and Pippa rushed out.

Matt stood up. This was his chance. It was almost too good to be true, but he was probably never going to get a chance like it again. Pausing, he waited until he was positive that Pippa was gone and Spencer was asleep, and he quickly crept out of his apartment and to his neighbor's. He slipped a pin out of his pocket and carefully maneuvered it into the lock, listening for when he lifted the latches within it. After a minute of shifting the pin in the lock, he heard a 'click,' and he cautiously opened the door. He crept through the hallway, making sure to not wake Spencer. He found the files easily enough, and he grabbed them, quickly locked the door back, and made his way back to his own apartment. As he sat on his couch with the files in hand, he realized that since they weren't in Braille, he couldn't read it, but that was a problem he could deal with tomorrow. He changed into his all black outfit and tied the mask over his eyes. Slipping out of his window, he leaped onto to the fire escape. He had bigger things to do.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Ta-da! Chapter two is officially done! I hope you guys like it! I'm sorry it's taken so long. I've been really busy with school, and on top of that, I've decided to completely rewrite a few of my stories. Not this one though. I really like it so far, and I'm excited to see where it goes. Anyways, I'll try to get the next chapter out soon! Until then, happy holidays!**

 **Love,**

 **Nell**


End file.
